More Than You Could Ever Know
by KESwriter
Summary: AU. After a disastrous case the team questions whether they are really making a difference. When they fall asleep on the plane ride home they see the people who tune in to watch them succeed. Featuring OCs and near-equal character involvement.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Criminal Minds.

I need a fix of optimism. Reading, The Hunger Games was… words fail me. I have been feeling extremely Garcia-like lately. Forgive me as my writing might be a little sluggish as I just got off an exhausting shift and the Mockingjay kept me up late last night. As per usual: I am stopping this story due to time and length constraints. The average chapter on this site is about a thousand words, so I decided to keep the first entry short. I think I will set this up as a three part story, but that might change.

Please remember to read summary to understand that this chapter is a setup. I know the characterizations are very off in many places and I did it on purpose to some extent. The next chapter will be extremely long and I think some of you will truly love it! I know I am as I will be breaking one of my personal rules there. This is an AU story and I hope it hasn't been done before.

Reviews are welcome and encourage as always.

Quick question: Why isn't there a Hope Category?

More Than You Could Ever Know

Part 1:

"Damn it Reid! Can't you just lose one game? Do you care one bit about just acting less superior than all of us in one thing?" Morgan shouted angrily as he threw his hand of cards in Reid's face.

Reid shoved them back with equal fury. "You really think I'm the one with an ego problem here? You were the one who broke the door down without Hotch's clearance! You're the one who-"

"That's enough you two," Hotch said sternly from across the plane. It had been a hard case and tempers were flying high on the ride home.

Morgan turned to Hotch. "Are you taking Reid's side here Hotch? It was your total faith the boy genius's ability to pin down the location based on his stupid maps that sent us on-"

"There's plenty of blame to go around," Rossi interjected, looking up from his book that he was clearly wasn't paying any attention to. He turned to J.J., who was sitting across from him. "You should have read through the smoke screen the victim's family had created. You got played-"

J.J. was reading through the angry texts Will had left on her phone when Rossi sent the accusation at her. "You can't pin this on me Rossi! You should have noticed that one of your famous 'Un-Subs who got away,' was working in the police station!"

Prentiss shoved her tablet with pictures of her dream house in her bag angrily. "Rossi barely spent any time in station," she shouted across the plane. "The person who should have picked up on something was the one who was working on a computer ten feet away from him!" She turned her attention to Garcia.

Garcia was quietly typing on her computer; trying to explain to Kevin her change in attitude towards him. She jumped and let out a squeak upon being addressed so sharply. "I was only there to provide technical support. You wouldn't have had a clue where to begin to looking if I hadn't hacked the-"

"Too little too late!" Prentiss said with barely tempered fury.

"It might have helped if you had spent a little less time shopping for furniture you might have noticed something!" Garcia shot back. She instantly regretted her words. She hated the fact that she had been forced to go on the offensive.

"That's enough!" Hotch shouted and with a few swift strides across the plane he reached the wall containing the control panel and switched off the all the lights. "There is no use going around in circles like this! I think everyone needs to get some sleep. I'm thinking this team has been long overdue for some lengthy vacation time. I plan on looking into that tomorrow."

"Yes that worked out so well the last time. I still have bloody nightmares of that trip. All because Pretty Boy spilled every detail of lives to-"

Reid dashed blindly away through the plane. He found a corner and tucked himself in. He ducked his face into his knees.

Hotch took Reid's seat. "That was completely out of line Morgan," he said in a deadly calm voice.

Morgan shook his head. He knew he had gone too far. This case had brought back a flood of terrible memories. He was glad Hotch couldn't see his face. "Hotch what are we doing? It seems like every time we fly in to try to help the local P.D. find the sick S.O.B. another person had to die before we can begin to track the guy the down. We screwed this case up so badly that five people died because we failed to get a grip on the situation."

Hotch understood Morgan's anger. He even harbored some of the same doubts. But he had to stand firm. "Morgan, we have one of the most successful case clearance rates of any team in the BAU. Yet we are still human. We will learn from the mistakes we made while on this case and become a better team because of it."

"Do you really think so Aaron?" a very alert Rossi said. "I am still the newest member on this team and can still see some things from an outsider's perspective. We have gone through some very tough times recently, but this one is different."

Before Hotch could respond Reid jumped in. "I think Rossi might have a point." He seemed to have regained his composure. "Relationships have been renewed but there is still a sense of distrust on the team." No one had to strain their eyes in the dark to know that he was glaring at Prentiss and J.J.

J.J. turned her phone off after reading Will's last message demanding her to take some time off slammed her hand on the table. "Spence I thought we were past this!" she said with a note pure anger she had never aimed at the godfather of her son.

Garcia let out a sudden sob. "Everyone stop! I can't begin to block out the horrors of what happened when all of my loves are fighting like this," she said. She shut her laptop with a snap and covered her face with her hands.

Prentiss let out a sigh of frustration. "I was beyond happy to back. I honestly was and still am on many levels. But the nightmares are returning, and I can't help but wonder: Is getting into the minds of these monsters really worth the emotional trauma we have to endure afterwards?"

Hotch really wanted to answer the question, but the words wouldn't come out. Memories of what his team had gone through began to flash through his mind. Watching Prentiss in surgery, knowing his team would never trust him again, as well as Emily if she returned. Seeing J.J. struggling with returning to the erratic work schedule after having a job that had guaranteed her being there for her son at the end of the work day. Watching the way Morgan's family looked at him with contempt over outright lying about the fact a beloved family member might still be alive. Rossi trying to look calm and focused while struggling with the request one of his ex-wives had made that went against his moral code. Finally Reid, feeling betrayed, and whose fears of losing his intellectual edge being reinforced through the taunts of an Un-Sub. And this was only in the last twelve months. He didn't want to think about what had happened over the last six years.

Yet the image of his dead wife flashed through his mind he found himself falling into a restless sleep. And with that image a single question blared through his groggy mind: Was he and his team really making a difference?


	2. Chapter 2

This won't be the last chapter. I confess I have a hard time writing descriptions. Look for an author's note at the end.

...

It was like watching a TV show as each scene flashed by.

1

A teenage girl dressed in soccer uniform dashes through the house. She waves hello to middle-aged man and woman seated at the kitchen table as she pulls open the door pounds into the basement.

A teenage girl wearing jeans and a tie-dye shirt is perched on top of a plaid sagging couch flipping through a Green Lantern comic. She looks up and smiles. "You're here with five minutes to spare Kate," she says.

"I don't understand why your coach makes you practice so late," says the teenage boy sitting the middle of the couch. He is wearing ratty jeans with a Halo T-shirt. He closes his Dune book. "You know studies show that teens perform the best athletically at-"

"Shut up Reid 97" the girls say in unison.

He throws his hands up in the air. "When will I become Reid Vista? Or better yet, let's switch software systems!"

"Not a chance Cory," Kate says as she pulls a Gatorade out of the mini-fridge. She then looks to the girl. "So Sarah, are you going to be at my game on Saturday?"

Sarah shakes her head. "I'm on twin patrol that day. Mr. and Mrs. Connell are running in that ALS society marathon."

Kate hits her face. "I forgot about that!" She walks over and falls into the couch. "I wish I could be in that. Ma Connell was such a sweet lady. Instead I'm forced to-"

"Guys the show is starting!" Cory shouts as he turns on the TV.

Sarah lies down across the top of the couch. Her face is a few inches from Kate's. "I kind love this show," she says lightly.

Kate keeps her eyes on the screen. "It still feels weird coming down here to watch a show about serial killers to relax."

"But they always catch them at the end," Sarah says.

"Almost always," Cory says.

"There is also watching Rossi and envisioning him as your coach," Sarah says.

Kate takes a big gulp of her drink and then lets out sigh. "What I would give for that to happen."

2

A gray-haired woman wearing a blue jumper with a white a blouse is leaning over a set of spelling tests spread across a kitchen table. She looks up at the microwave clock and dashes out of the room. She sinks into her overstuffed recliner and turns on the TV with the remote. She adjusts the framed photo of a young woman with auburn hair standing in front of the United Nations Building as she puts the remote back on the end table.

3

A young woman wearing a green Octavian University hoodie over pink pajama bottoms walks into a dorm leisure area with a look of disgust on her face. "So this is what you reserved the entire dorm lounge for Dylan! To watch TV!"

A young man wearing glasses and a white T-shirt over green striped pants looks up at her over his computer. "It is for school work Zoe. I'm writing the show up for COM 300," Dylan says breezily.

Zoe throws herself into a duct-tape covered chair. "You wrote up this show for two other classes!"

A girl reading Helter Skeltor looks up. "I can't figure how you used it in medieval lit."

Dylan looks at her, shocked. "Hello, 'The Fisher King?' Literary themes used to kill people. That was the first paper I wrote without paraphrasing an entire Spark Notes book."

"You wouldn't have gotten away with that in Gold's class," Zoe says resentfully.

A lanky young man carrying a bag of chips appears. "I never thought I'd ever enjoy reading a sociology essay until I read your's describing something about Freud, Karl Marx, and the psycho who hunted women to be in his movie while keeping his dead mother in his house," he says with a laugh and pops some chips into his mouth.

"Aaron Clifford is psychotic!" Zoe says angrily. "He is obsessed with creepy crap. You just wrote out some gruesome descriptions and randomly threw quotes from the books in to make it look decent."

"And you are still pissed that I got a better grade than you in the class," Dylan replies smugly.

She grabs an empty water bottle and throws it at him. It hits another man carrying a mug of coffee. It surprises the man but he doesn't spill anything. He looks at her through his long brown bangs and smiles. "Nice throw ace," he says as he takes a seat next to her.

"Sorry Tom," Zoe says sincerely.

"You've got to stop letting the guy get under your skin," Tom says quietly and taps her gently on the chin. "You'll get Suma your way and he'll get Cum some… how…"

The chair creaks as Zoe lets her head fall back. "There's no denying the fact that you can learn a lot from that crime procedural. It's just so-"

Tom cuts her off. "So what is the topic for this paper Dill?" he asks.

"This one is not that big a stretch actually," Dylan replies. "Did you know that there something called 'safe harbor' viewing period? It is the time when the networks can air their mature material. Would you believe that this show airs outside that harbor?"

"In this day and age, yes," Zoe says.

"Grandma would have flipped her lid if she knew I was watching this sick stuff," the guy with the chips says.

The girl closes her book. "Better this over 'Teen-Mom,'" she says and reaches for the remote.

Tom nods his head. "Yes I do believe watching a macabre law enforcement drama is better than watching depressing teen 'baby-mama' drama," he says.

Zoe stares around dubiously. "Well when you put it like that…"

4

A man in his mid thirties with closely-cropped blond hair is writing a series of equations feverishly on a mahogany desk. He throws his tie off with a grunt of frustration and it bounces against an MIT diploma with the name Craig Finley on it. He jumps when the computer on his desk beeps.

The words "CM TIME" flash across the screen.

He sits back into his green leather chair and feels around for the remote. He switches on the TV. A slight smile appears on his face as he pulls out his five year chip and rubs it between his fingers.

5

A young woman with purple streaked hair admires her set of three computer screens. "Well it's a start," she says.

"A pretty awesome start Annie!" a young woman with two black braids held together with yellow bat-clips appearing the middle monitor says. "That's one more than me! You're practically Oracle!"

Annie laughs. "If I was Oracle Jen I'd be able to hack into the Pentagon without ending up on a terrorist watch list."

"Prescott academy was a good start," Jen says. "Someone needed to expose how that fund-raising money was being used to give the cheerleaders 'enhancements'"

Annie laughs. "Maybe I'll try hacking a prep school next," she says and then notices her phone beeping. "It's almost show time," she says.

"I don't understand why you just don't DVR it or even hack CBS to watch the show whenever you want," Jen says.

Annie sits back in her padded computer chair. "I like to think of it as a ritual. A once-weekly time period dedicated to watching the beautiful genius that is Penelope Garcia in action with the rest of the country."

"No one makes sparkly purple glasses, yellow butter-fly clips, pink beads, as kick-as as Penelope Garcia," Jen says appreciatively as she begins to move her mouse around. "Later cadet G-Woman," she says.

"See you soon Baby-girl Proxy," Annie says Jen's monitor goes blank and she turns on her TV.

6

A light-brown haired man in his early forties enters his ranch house. He turns on a light and kicks his shoes off at the door and walks almost tipsily through the house. He drops brief case on the kitchen table as he goes to the fridge and pulls out a beer. He notices the time on the clock hanging above the sink and grabs some folders out of his bag as he saunters into the living room. He sits on the couch, puts his beer on the end table and the files on the coffee table.

After he turns on the TV he flips through files. They are missing persons reports filed in the last five weeks. As the show progresses the frown lines on his forehead relax and look of peace spreads across his face.

7

"Honey you're too young to be watching this," a balding man late thirties says when he sees a blond girl in pink pajamas curled up on a sofa in front of the TV.

"But Dad I like it!" the girl says pleadingly.

"Honey this show is for grown-ups. People get hurt in very violent and scary ways. You shouldn't be watching this," he says as he reaches for remote.

"But I turn it off when the really bad stuff happens! I just like the characters. I'd love to have a brother like Reid and an aunt like Garcia," she says as she blocks his path.

"Sophie those people aren't real," he says and grabs remote from behind her and snaps the TV off.

Sophie stomps her foot. "Well you don't seem real all the time either!" she shouts. "You and Mommy are always yelling. Arguing over what school I should go to and what holidays to spend with her or with you and April. You don't care about anything that I like!" She says as tear drops down her face. "You don't know me at all!" she says and runs upstairs.

The man is left alone down stairs, looking lost. He rubs his forehead. He feels a tear form and quickly wipes it away.

He goes upstairs and knocks on daughter's door. "Honey?" he says.

"Go away!" she shouts through the door.

He opens the door and finds Sophie curled up in a ball at the head board. He sits on the blue floral bedspread and studies the patterns. "Soph, I know I haven't been the best dad lately and I'm sorry. I promise to work harder at being the dad you deserve."

Sophie lets out a derisive grunt. "But that won't change anything tonight. Will it?" she says.

"Actually it will. Why don't you come down stairs and we can watch the show together?" he asks. "You can tell me about these cool characters and I'll turn off the TV when I think it gets to graphic. Does that sound fair?"

Sophie's expression softens and her father smiles. "I'll make hot cocoa with marshmallows."

She perks up immediately. "Real marshmallows?"

He smiles mischievously. "I still remember where your mother hides them."

She is too big for him to carry like he used to but he manages to hug her on to her feet and guide her through the door. She begins to talk about the show.

"In one episode Reid tries to blow out the candles on his birthday cake, but they won't go out because they're trick candles like the ones used on Zack's cake! The next time…"

8

The room has faded jungles scenes painted on the walls. Books are piled everywhere. Clothes are scattered across the floor. A graduation gown hangs on the front of the closet door. The deep red bedspread is covered in financial aid forms and a laptop is positioned in the corner.

Then suddenly a young blond woman wearing silver glasses and a purple Octavian University T-shirt over khaki pants rushes in. She throws her name tag lanyard over a bed post as plops on her bed. She rolls on her side and opens her laptop. With a few a rapid clicks she finds her the rough draft of her latest blog entry titled: "How Spencer Reid inspired me connect with an Autistic child."

After typing a few more lines she glances at the clock in the corner of the screen. She fumbles around for the remote and turns on the TV to see Garcia, J.J., Reid, Hotch, Rossi, Prentiss, and Morgan seated side-by-side at a table in a Senate hearing room.

Everything turns dark again for the last time.

…

Author's Note:

I really don't know where to begin. There are a ton of ideas here and I'm not sure how many of them worked. I actually have at least four more in me but I felt the need to stop here and consider adding them later and maybe taking out a few.

I kept asking myself: Who watches Criminal Minds? I chose people with different viewpoints. But I didn't want to describe "super" fans with pictures of Mathew Gray Gubbler pasted over all their walls. I did draw some inspiration from the profiles of the fan writers on this site. I mainly wanted to describe the average people who decide to turn on the TV at 9:00 and a Wednesday to watch these characters save the day. I wish I had more time to write a few more of these out. I really do.

The mechanics need cleaning and I'm thinking of more interesting transition sequences.

So would anyone care to guess which one is me? I'm guessing that it is fairly obvious. I'll provide a detailed explanation when I finish the story by the end of the weekend. I wish I could say sooner but I have some very hectic days ahead of me.


	3. Chapter 3

Ha! Who really thought I could stay away from this site? Even though I'll be meeting the School Prez. in less than 12 hours. I don't need to be awake for most of the event anyway. Writing this story is preventing from me panicking all night about my future.

I am beyond relieved to see the reviews. I was worried I was too hard on the show.

This story is fairly sweet and simple. It's essentially a thank you letter to the writers of the show.

But I'd also like to dedicate this chapter to Prof. Bruce Bryski. I'll explain later.

Part 3:

When Hotch woke up the sky was full of pink and gold colors reflecting off the clouds. He looked around and saw the rest of the team seemed to slowly starting to wake up also.

Morgan stretched and walked over where Reid was curled on the floor. "Kid did you really sleep like that all night?"

Reid rubbed his eyes and nodded. "It's a defensive body position instinctively formed while in the presence of a threat. I guess I subconsciously had to sleep this way to feel safe," he said with a shrug.

"Well you don't have any reason to feel threatened now," Morgan said and offered his hand. Reid took his hand and Morgan pulled him up.

J.J. stifled a yawn as she got up. "So who's up for coffee? I made sure to have the box of sugar packets refilled," she said with a sweet smile aimed at Reid.

There were several comments of approval. As J.J. walked into the kitchen Prentiss stretched her arms above her head.

She looked over at Garcia, who was pulling out her makeup case. "So Garcia all these home décor magazines suggest adding a fun off-beat element to at least one room. Would you mind helping me picking out some pieces?"

Garcia looked up in shock. "Really? You want decorating help from me?"

Prentiss nodded. "You know the funky art work stores better than me."

Garcia said spoke in a gleeful voice "There is a really fun shop called the Ruby Slipper that has…"

Rossi put his book away and took Morgan's seat in front of Hotch. "You know Aaron I have been thinking about that vacation idea of yours. Carolyn for some unknown reason willed her family's old summer home in the Hamptons to me. Since certain people are concerned about all of us going our separate ways while on R and R, that might be a good place to stash the whole team for a week."

Morgan appeared with a set of steaming cups of coffee. "Wait Rossi you have a place in the Hamptons now?"

Rossi grabbed a cup. "Carolyn is the only one who didn't marry me for my money I am certain. And it's more like an estate actually. It was designed to house multiple generations of the Baker family. So there should be room for all us and significant others."

J.J. appeared with another set. "How does her family feel about you owning it?"

Rossi took a sip. "She has no immediate family left. Only I, a few friends and non-profit organizations were listed in her will. I was actually planning on selling and donating the proceeds to one of those groups. But I'm willing to hold off on those plans for a little while longer."

Hotch looked at him in amazement. "That is extremely generous of you David."

Rossi just smiled wistfully. "The place needs a few more happy memories. Which is something I think is very possible with all of us there."

Hotch looked around as the rest of the team gathered next to them. "So who likes the idea?"

"I'd kill for a chance to lie in the sun for a while," Prentiss said.

"I think Henry would love playing on a beach," J.J. said.

"I hear the place has gotten little less stuck-up recently and a few clubs have opened. I'm in," Morgan said.

"I always dreamed of staying in one of those fancy houses you could see parts of above their huge fancy gates," Garcia gushed.

Reid tittered. "I'm not sure."

Rossi looked at him with interest. "According to the papers I received, the place hasn't been touched in years. But I also read that there are extra security measures around the area where the library is located. It reminded me that my father in law did collect rare books. You would be saving me some money by coming and in appraising the current value of the books. I may even offer you one at a discounted price if I'm satisfied."

Reid's stance changed immediately. "I'd be happy to help Rossi. The value of eighteenth century-"

Prentiss cut him off. "How about you Hotch?"

Hotch stared at his cup. "I was planning one enrolling Jack in a summer-"

"It's one week Aaron!" Rossi said with a note of exasperation. "You and Jack could both use some time of unscheduled fun. And be sure to invite Jessica as well."

Hotch sat still for a moment and then nodded. "I have been promising Jessica a vacation outside the D.C. area."

Rossi clapped is his hands once. "So we are all in agreement."

"Yay," Garcia cheered and clapped her hands vigorously. "A team vacation!"

The team then sat and drank their coffee in silence. They were trying to understand how all their attitudes had changed so dramatically after a few hours of sleep.

Prentiss was the first to speak again. "So Reid what has there been much study of the theory of alternate realities recently? And give us the Cliff Notes versions please," she added quickly.

"Today it is thought of mostly as a plot device used in science fiction. It dates back to Greek times where they believed the gods lived atop a mystical Mount Olympus. But it is theoretically possible based on the fact that scientists still cannot measure of the size of the universe."

Rossi raised his mug to Reid. "Congratulations Dr. Reid. I believe that is the first science-filled question that you answered in which everyone knew all the words you used."

Everyone laughed and Reid turned red, but he was smiling.

J.J. looked out the window at the swirling clouds. "It is not that hard to believe from up here."

Garcia agreed. "I work with computers day and night. Sometimes as I work through screens of endless code that forms data and imagery, I wonder if there's something out there. Some world that might be more positive and peaceful than the one we live in."

Morgan gently rubbed her shoulder. "I believe there is only one world. What other universe could be more positive than this one without you baby-girl?"

Garcia smiled and hugged his side. "Morgan you are the supreme ruler of all that is good, hot, and sexy of the universe."

The subject changed and the team interacted as if what happened in the past few days had cleared.

J.J. took a few steps away and pulled out her phone. She wanted to start writing a message with the promise of a family time to send Will when he woke up. Before she started she noticed a text from an unknown number. She opened the text curiously and it read:

"One cannot possibly imagine the expanse and beauty of a world where in which people exist to inspire and comfort others."

J.J. stared at it in amazement for a moment. She then looked phone number above which was composed of only four digits. She walked over to Reid. "Spence, where might this number have come from?"

Before Reid answered the question he stared at the message. "There is no such thing as a number like this." He then ran to his grab his bag as J.J. passed her phone around.

Each team member looked the message. It somehow gave further depth and reinforcement to the possibility there might be something out there. That their existence might have an impact outside this world.

Reid returned with a pen and paper. He wrote out the numbers for the team to see. He then wrote four letters underneath the number revealing a word:

HOPE

The End

…

Have I mentioned recently that I am absurdly wishy-washy right now? I confess I wrote this one for myself more anything and I hope you enjoyed it.

I'm not going to try too hard to fix this up tonight. I believe going to my graduation ceremony in less than is a valid reason to cut out early to get some sleep. I have no regrets.

The last person in Part 2 was indeed me. But the coloring of my room is different and that is not what I look like. The blog entry about the autistic child only exists in my mind right now and I don't have time to explain it properly.

Octavian University does not exist. I really wish I watched the show while in college because I could have written it up for those three classes and the crazy middle one is very real and even stranger than I described with an odd touch of sophistication. The rest of the "profiles" have no exact basis in real-life.

Prof. Bruce Bryski is the one who introduced me to the theory that everyone uses mass media for different reasons along with few other concepts that relate to this show. What can I say? I did learn some useful things in college.


End file.
